Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(23)

“So you’re a leg man?”

“Sugar,” he said with a silky rasp, “I’m an everything man. Any woman I find attractive? Every single part of her is sexy to me.”

“But you’re still going to give this abstinence thing a whirl?”

His face turned somber very quickly. “I have to. My career is at stake. I’ve worked too damn long and hard to be forced out because I f*cked the wrong woman.”

“He says with a bitter edge.”

“Funny. We’ve gotten off track. My turn to make a toast. But I’ll warn ya, I’m not very original.”

“Bring it.”

“A toast to both of us reigniting that magic spark so we can continue to do what we love.”

“Not original, my ass,” she mumbled and sucked down the liquid in a single gulp, releasing a heartfelt, “Ah.”

“Good stuff. If we keep this up, we’ll owe Kane a full bottle.”

“So let’s keep going.”

He raised both eyebrows. “You sure? It’s kinda late.”

“It’s not like either of us has to get up early. And besides, I’m not tired. Are you?”

“Nope.”

“Good. Since we’re both licking our wounds from a lie in one form or another, let’s play a game called Truth or Lie.”

Chase looked at her suspiciously. “What kinda game is that?”

“I tell you something about myself, and you try to figure out if it’s a lie or the truth. If it’s a lie and you call it as such, I drink. If you make a wrong call either way, you drink.”

“You aiming to get shitfaced tonight, Ava?”

She shrugged. “No one around here but us, Sundance. And since we’ve decided to be friends—” she emphasized the word with a hiss because it stung her pride this beautiful, rugged, manly man didn’t want to take her for a test ride, “—I think we should get to know each other better. I’ll even go first.”

“I don’t see how this is fair, you bein’ a professional actress and all,” Chase grumbled.
“You might as well have called me a professional liar, Chase.”

“If the stiletto fits…” He dodged her kick under the table. “You can’t deny bein’ an actress gives you an advantage.”

“Suck it up, cowboy. I’m betting your poker face is damn impressive when you’re in pain and showing the fans and your sponsors you’re feeling just fine.”

He sipped his beer. “Point taken. Okay, Hollywood, daze and confuse me with a page from the book of Ava.”

What to start with? “I posed nude early in my career and the photos caught the eye of a producer who ended up giving me my first acting job.”

Chase cocked his head, studying her. “Lie. You might’ve had nekkid pictures done, but my guess is no one has seen them.”

Ava couldn’t believe she’d lost the first question. “Busted. Your turn.”

He topped off her glass. “Before I ever got on a bull, I practiced my skills by ridin’ sheep.”

“I’ve heard the joke—Wyoming: where men are men and sheep are nervous. You’re trying to trip me up, McKay, so I’m gonna say…lie.”

“Nope. Truth. The rodeo event ‘mutton bustin’ is a kid’s precursor to bull and bronc ridin’. That’s where a lot of riders get their first taste of it.”

“Shoot. I’m gonna be hammered in no time flat.”